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Morning briefing: 2-Nov-24 – Eagles have been a league-leader on defense since Week 5 bye

November 2, 2024 by Hogs Haven

NFL: OCT 13 Browns at Eagles
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Links to stories, pods and pictures to help you keep up with NFC East and the NFL in general

NFC East links

ESPN

Former Eagles coach Pederson helped usher Sirianni in as Philly coach

The last time Eagles coach Nick Sirianni strolled the sidelines at Lincoln Financial Field, “Fire Nick” chants were raining down on him.

The offense was sputtering against the Cleveland Browns and the Eagles were coming off a lopsided loss to the Tampa Bay Bucs and, after enduring an epic collapse the season before, the fan base had no patience for any of it. The chirping eventually got to Sirianni, who turned towards the stands as the final seconds ticked off the clock of a 20-16 win and yelled at a group of patrons behind the bench, setting off a firestorm in the city that drowned out the results on the field.

That was less than three weeks ago. In some ways, it feels like a different place and time. The Eagles have since strung together a three-game win streak to improve to 5-2. Both sides of the ball have rounded into form. Talk-show hosts are now debating if this is a legitimate Super Bowl contender, and some are openly wondering if they had gone too far in their criticisms of the head coach.

“Having coached in four major cities in the NFL…Philadelphia is as passionate or more passionate than any of the cities and a little more intense,” said legendary coach Dick Vermeil, who transformed the Eagles from a losing franchise to Super Bowl contenders during his stint from 1976-82. “And I think the Philadelphia fan takes it a little more personal. Once you get established in Philadelphia you become part of their family. They get mad at you just like they get mad at their own kids. They love you and they’re going to spank you.”


Big Cat Country

5 Questions with BGN: What we learned about the Eagles

Question 4: How has the Vic Fangio experiment progressed this season, and what’s the best way to exploit his defense?

There were some ups (such as limiting the New Orleans Saints’ red-hot offense to just 12 points) and some downs (getting destroyed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) prior to the Week 5 bye. Since then, however, Fangio’s defense has been pretty good. The Eagles have allowed just two touchdowns over their last three games. Playing against Deshaun Watson and Daniel Jones has definitely helped. But the Eagles also held Joe Burrow to his lowest passer rating this season.

Here’s how Fangio’s defense ranks in a number of key categories:

Eagles defense has been dominating as of late. Per @john_gonoude of the Eagles, defensive ranks since the bye week pic.twitter.com/klbV95DhII

— Jon Marks (@JonMarksMedia) October 30, 2024

When it comes to exploitation, the Eagles’ defense never looked worse than when the Buccaneers were able to have a lot of success getting rid of the ball lighting-quick. I’m guessing the Jags will be trying to attack the Eagles with their quick game, especially since Jacksonville could be without multiple starting offensive linemen. Trevor Lawrence holding onto the ball does not seem like a recipe for Jags success in this matchup.


Bleeding Green Nation

Eagles-Jaguars Final Injury Report: Dallas Goedert and Darius Slay ruled out

The Philadelphia Eagles issued their third and final official injury report on Friday in advance of their Week 9 home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Eagles ruled two players OUT: Dallas Goedert and Darius Slay.

Goedert is missing his third straight game. The Eagles will once again roll with Grant Calcaterra and Jack Stoll as their top two tight ends. They have until 4:00 PM Eastern on Saturday, November 2 to add a third tight end to the game day roster if so desired.

Slay is missing his first game this season. Isaiah Rodgers will start in place of him with Kelee Ringo now serving as the top backup cornerback behind Rodgers and Quinyon Mitchell.


NFL.com

Dexter Lawrence headlines top five DTs! Plus, Dak Prescott’s struggles and Diontae Johnson’s trade

The truth about Dak Prescott’s poor play

Two months into the 2024 campaign, Dak Prescott is under fire.

Having just become the highest-paid player in NFL history with a four-year, $240 million contract that averages $60 million per season, the Cowboys quarterback is an easy target. With the memory of Dallas’ humiliating playoff flame-out against Green Bay still fresh in the minds of naysayers, it’s open season on Dak. The haters are torching the ninth-year pro, with the Cowboys sitting at a disappointing 3-4 and the quarterback owning career lows in touchdown-to-interception ratio (10:8) and passer rating (84.5).

With an aging backfield, a pass-catching group that seriously lacks juice beyond WR1 CeeDee Lamb and an inexperienced O-line, Dallas’ offense is a flawed unit right now. The Cowboys do not have the talent to compete with the league’s heavyweights; critics are out of line in placing all of the blame for this team’s shortcomings on Dak. Owner/general manager Jerry Jones should take more heat for failing to build a roster that properly supports a highly accomplished quarterback who should be squarely in his prime.

Through the first eight weeks of this season, Dallas has the league’s worst rushing offense, averaging a meager 74.1 yards per game. And without multiple high-end options to balance the aerial attack, the Cowboys cannot counter the tilted coverage directed at Lamb to neutralize his impact as a big-play pass catcher.

Given the lack of talent around Prescott, how can we expect the 31-year-old to elevate a pedestrian offense in a pass-happy league? Though the veteran must improve his performance, production and efficiency as a QB1, the Cowboys’ offensive failures are mostly due to a flawed roster that lacks the talent to compete with the league’s best teams.


NFL.com

Jerry Jones admits Cowboys’ 3-4 start has been ‘a rougher go’ than expected

The Cowboys’ 3-4 start has been fraught with injuries, mistakes and generally ugly football.

Dak Prescott has become a bit of a turnover machine, throwing eight interceptions in seven games after finishing with nine picks in all of 2023. Offensively, the Cowboys lack punch and consistency, and because their defense is so banged up, they’ve found themselves fighting uphill battles on a near-weekly basis.

“It is rougher and I did not anticipate the challenges that we’re having with this team,” Jones said Friday, “but I am reminded of teams that I’ve seen that have had a lot of success and put themselves in position to take a shot and they were 3-4.”

His team will encounter a quality litmus test this weekend against the 5-3 Falcons, a team that has challenged opposing defenses over the last month, averaging nearly 30 points per game in that stretch.


Big Blue View

Impassioned DB coach Jerome Henderson on getting through to Giants’ CB Deonte Banks

Henderson is taking Banks’ difficulties personally

The New York Giants, fearful of being jumped, traded up one spot to select Deonte Banks No. 24 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. That means they have high expectations for, and a lot invested in, the cornerback.

His struggles this season — being overmatched at times as the team’s No. 1 cornerback, twice having lapses where his effort obviously wasn’t good enough, being benched Monday against the Pittsburgh Steelers — hurt the team and reflect on everyone who was involved in making him a Giant.

No one takes that harder, or takes it to heart more, than veteran defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson.

“I raised my hand and said, yes, draft him, I want him, I love him. When that happened to him, it happened to me as well. We’re tied at the hip, he and I. It wasn’t good enough by him, and for that reason wasn’t good enough by me,” Henderson said.

“Such high expectations for the young man, and consistently pushing him to reach those expectations we have and where we drafted him, and what we all think of him.

“It’s my job again to get him to understand the importance of his draft position, our expectations of him, what he can provide for this team and and it’s he and I got to get it done.”

“[Banks is starting] because we think he gives us the best chance to win,” Henderson said. “Otherwise, why would we not start him? … Hopefully, he got the message from the Pittsburgh game, and we’ve moved on. We’re going to give him a chance to go out and show the player that he is.”

Is Banks getting the message?

“We’ll see. I hope he doe,” Henderson said. “We’re going to try our our best this week to to go out and play our best game. All of us are going to try to do that and hopefully this is the week where we do that.

“We’re going to ask him to step up and be big for us.”


ESPN

NFL Week 9 picks, schedule, odds, injuries, fantasy tips

Cowboys (3-4) at Falcons (5-3)

Cowboys storyline to watch: The Cowboys are at a crossroads. Will they be contending for the playoffs or draft positioning in the second half of the season? Only once since 1989 have the Cowboys made the playoffs after starting 3-5 — in 2018 when their midseason trade for wide receiver Amari Cooper sparked a 10-6 finish. But a 4-4 record after eight games is no guarantee either. In that same time span, they’ve made the playoffs twice out of the five times they were .500 after eight games. — Todd Archer

Falcons storyline to watch: The offensively versatile Falcons might become a run-first team again this weekend. The Cowboys have allowed the second-most touchdowns on the ground (12) and the fourth-highest yards per carry (tied, 4.8) in the league. To go deeper, Bijan Robinson has a league-best 57.6% success rate on under-center runs among running backs with at least 30 carries, while the Cowboys have given up the second-highest success rate (49.3%) on such runs, per NFL Next Gen Stats. — Marc Raimondi

Stat to know: A defeat for the Cowboys would match their loss total from each of the previous three seasons (12-5 from 2021 to 2023).

Injuries: Cowboys | Falcons

Fantasy X factor: Robinson. He has had 18 or more touches and 20 or more fantasy points in three consecutive games. Now, Robinson faces a Cowboys defense that ranks 30th in run stop win rate (26.7%) and gives up the fourth-most fantasy points per game. See Week 9 rankings. — Moody

Betting nugget: The Cowboys are 0-5 ATS in their past five games following a loss (0-3 ATS after a loss this season). Read more.

Commanders (6-2) at Giants (2-6)

Commanders storyline to watch: Washington ranks second in the NFL in yards per run (5.2) and third in rush yards per game (165.8). Some of the latter total stems from quarterback Jayden Daniels, who averages 53 rushing yards per game. But the Commanders’ running backs still average a combined 5.2 per carry. Meanwhile, the Giants’ run defense ranks last in yards allowed per carry (5.4) and 27th in rush yards per game (141.8). Washington can hit big pass plays with Daniels, but facing strong edge pass rushers, the Commanders will look to control the game on the ground. — John Keim

Giants storyline to watch: Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers is looking to bounce back from a game in which he had two key drops in Pittsburgh. He’s especially motivated against a Washington team that couldn’t stop him in the first meeting. Nabers had 10 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown in that matchup. He’s itching for another big game after two pedestrian performances coming off a concussion. — Jordan Raanan

Stat to know: The Giants are 0-4 at home this season, averaging 7.8 points per game (fewest in the NFL). They haven’t started 0-5 at home since 1974.

Injuries: Commanders | Giants

Fantasy X factor: Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin. He has had 16 or more fantasy points in five of his past six games. He has historically performed well against the Giants, averaging 9.1 targets and 16.5 fantasy points across 10 career games. See Week 9 rankings. — Moody

Betting nugget: Unders are 4-0 in Giants home games this season. Overs are 4-0 in Commanders road games this season. Read more.

Jaguars (2-6) at Eagles (5-2)

Jaguars storyline to watch: As bad as the Jaguars have been defensively — they’re on pace to allow the second-most yards (382.1) and points (28) per game in franchise history — they’ve been effective offensively. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has cut down his turnovers (he has five after averaging 20 per season over his first three seasons), and they’re averaging 5.8 yards per play, which would be the best mark in franchise history. The biggest issue is their slow starts (just 20 points scored in the first quarter), which might not hurt them this week because the Eagles are the only team in the NFL that hasn’t scored in the first quarter. — Mike DiRocco

Eagles storyline to watch: Quarterback Jalen Hurts has become much more efficient in recent weeks. After turning the ball over seven times over the Eagles’ first four games — second most in the league at the time — he has zero giveaways in the past three games. Philadelphia is 3-0 over that stretch with a points-per-game differential of plus-16.3, compared with minus-2.5 during its 2-2 start. — Tim McManus

Stat to know: Hurts has had five rushing touchdowns in the past two games, the most by any quarterback in a two-game span since 1951. Since 1950, the most rushing touchdowns by a passer over a three-game span is six (Cam Newton in 2011 and Johnny Lujack in 1950).

Injuries: Jaguars | Eagles

Fantasy X factor: Jaguars tight end Evan Engram. Wide receiver Christian Kirk is out for the season because of a broken collarbone, and wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (chest) is day-to-day. That means Lawrence will likely lean on Engram. Last season, Engram averaged 10.2 targets, 8.3 receptions and 73.2 receiving yards per game when Kirk was sidelined for six games. See Week 9 rankings. — Moody

Betting nugget: The last time the Jaguars closed as at least seven-point underdogs was the 2022 divisional playoffs against the Chiefs (plus-9.5). Read more.


NFL league links

Articles

Front Office Sports

The Untapped Revenue ‘Powder Keg’ of Women’s NFL Fandom

It’s increasingly clear that female fans—whether they are lifelong diehards or found their way to football through Swift last season—are a major force that remain largely untapped in the NFL sphere. They are willing to spend. And now that the league and the brands it works with are beginning to serve them better, they are.

Even before Swift, the female audience for the NFL had been growing for years. Women currently make up 46% of the total fan base, according to the league. They have been the key demographic driving the NFL’s growth for well over a decade.

Past overtures have included a controversial annual breast cancer awareness campaign that swathed stadiums, players, and fans in pink gear (including women’s apparel) for the month of October; educational initiatives offering beginner-level football terminology and “game-day style tips”; and a collection of apparel and accessories designed for women, which launched to much fanfare in 2010. Of course, by the time the latter debuted, tens of millions of female fans were already watching the sport, often in men’s or youth jerseys.

Lately, though, Swift has helped spotlight the void. Her presence has expedited strategies already underway to engage with female fans and woken up other companies to the massive revenue potential of this underserved market.


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